Becoming a Highly Effective Wizard
by W Arcturus Black
Summary: Uncle Vernon delegates his dreaded book-work for a self-improvement seminar sponsored by his company onto Harry's list of chores right after the event of Goblet of Fire. What Harry learns in the book sets him on a path of discovery and changes his paradigms for the better. (Vernon is a slightly better human being than canon while the other Dursleys are about the same.) Relationship
1. Chapter 1

**Becoming a Highly Effective Wizard**

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter nor do I have any relationship with the company FranklinCovey.

Author's Note: I'll be continuing my others stories soon this plot came to me, and I needed to put it down before I could return to Vivre.

Summary: Uncle Vernon delegates his dreaded book-work for a self-improvement seminar sponsored by his company onto Harry's list of chores right after the event of Goblet of Fire. What Harry learns in the book sets him on a path of discovery and changes his paradigms for the better. (Vernon is a slightly better human being than canon while the other Dursleys are about the same.) Relationships TBD.

 **Chapter 1**

The Senior Sales Director of Grunnings Drills, Vernon Dursley, sat at his desk and fumed. His secretary had just told him that the Owners had called for a mandatory two-day seminar the last Thursday and Friday of June and for a follow-up session to occur two weeks later.

He couldn't believe that he would have to be away from working leads and upselling current customers all because the owner's son that just graduated from Harvard Business School and thought he was the smartest person on Earth. So far Peter Grunnings, the recent graduate, had cut some of the ways he could wine and dine clients. That was annoying, but he could work around that. Also, Vernon could no longer take clients to a Gentleman's club nor could he expense his quarterly trips to Mallorca or Ibiza with is top customers. That might be more difficult, but he could be creative find new ways to reward those purchasers that lined his pockets. Rumor had it that Peter was going to restructure the way commission and bonuses would occur in the future. If that cut his bottom line, then there would be hell to pay.

Now that supposed wunderkind thought that some smartarse from the colonies who claimed that by following seven principles everyone could become more effective. What a bunch of namby-pamby nonsense. Vernon was the top salesman at Grunnings for more than 15 years. At different times companies like Bosch, Husqvarna, Hazet, Gedore, Stahlwille, and Makita had tried to recruit him, and it may just be time to consider their offers.

Luckily, Vernon would already be by King's Cross at the Novotel London St Pancras hotel for the seminar so that he could pick up Potter at the end of the Friday meeting. His wife would have been livid if she had to brave traffic for the so-called freak. She would have made Vernon's life almost unbearable if she had to take the two and a half hours to drive to King's Cross and back to Surrey. A key to a happy life was a happy wife after all.

It was too bad that she projected her resentment and jealousy of her sister onto that boy. Dudley had been a lightweight when it came to hard work, dedication, mental pursuits, and potential. So naturally, Dudley had been jealous of Potter. Vernon loved his son, but that boy had little potential outside of boxing or work as a bodyguard or a bouncer.

Potter could have been in University since age 10. He could have become a famous engineer, architect, doctor, or scientist by now. Vernon knew that Potter was brilliant but uncultivated. Without any early intervention and assistance, the kid had taught himself to read, write, and even handle fractions before his first year of Primary. He wished he could have inspired that boy's mind and pushed him because it would have played out well for him as the charitable Uncle had helped the orphan be one of the top minds in England.

Between his wife's hatred, Dudley's jealousy, and the kid's fate already destined to end up in that uncivilized and backward magical world there was no reason to take an interest in the boy. The letter from that neckbeard, Dumbledore, was clear that Harry would be going back to their world starting at age 11 for ten months of the year and would never return after he turned 17.

At least, he had saved 56,000 pounds by putting the boy to work as a cleaner, a cook, and a gardener over the years. He might even save another 9,000 pounds with four hours of chores per day for the next three summers.

Grudgingly, Vernon attended the meetings. He sat in the middle and pretended to be engaged more than most of the people in the room He kept his comments to a handful of thoughtful examples. Even if he hated being here, his face didn't show his contempt. He knew it was a game of impressions and he was going to keep his spot at the top. At the end of Friday's session, his boss handed out homework. The boss passed out a hardbound 350-page book that went into more detail than what they had covered over the past two days. Not only did he have to read this paperweight but he had to write short answers to almost 80 questions that could only be answered by reading the whole bloody thing. Due for the next meeting, no exceptions.

Inwardly, he wanted to yell at someone. Vernon wasn't book smart; he was people smart. He made more money than most of those cake boys in the city. This mandatory assignment was going to waste all of his free time until that next waste of two work days. He thought to himself, "I wish I could pay Dudders to do this report for me. Although I'd get fired for being a moron before the manager finished reading to the bottom of the first page." He had always known that Dudley was going to need to go into a nonconventional field. He had hoped he could be taught to sell, but it looked like boxing was the only thing that boy was good for so far. In the back of his mind, he was brainstorming ways to delegate this to someone else.

As he waited for Potter outside of platform nine ¾, he overheard a bushy-haired girl remind Potter that he needed to get the twelve summer essays done sooner than later as his best work was done early rather than procrastinated to the last possible minute. An idea formed in Vernon's head of a way he could delegate his work assignment.

"Potter, let's stop dawdling!"

Harry looked up and saw his impatient uncle. He mumbled a quick goodbye to Hermione and then quickly pushed his trolley laden with a trunk and bird to keep up with his uncle. As they approached the new Range Rover, Vernon opened the back he commanded, "Don't you dare scratch the paint!"

"Yes sir," replied Harry. Vernon was surprised that the boy was strong enough to heft his things into the back without assistance. Harry would never notice the hint of pride that flashed on Vernon's face. It was good to see that Harry was no longer the weakling that last year grunted and almost collapsed under the same task.

As they pulled out of the parking garage, Vernon decided to ask some questions to see if his idea had merit. He asked, "Potter, how did your school year go?"

Surprised for a moment, Harry questioned himself, 'why was Uncle Vernon making small talk with him. Vernon had always been his favorite Dursley, but the man had never talked with him. He gave orders and acknowledged satisfactory completion. Occasionally, he gave a compliment on exemplary work but what is going on?' Harry thought to himself. Before the pause was too long, Harry answered, "I was entered into an international competition and tied for first place. Because of the time commitment to the competition, I skipped the end of year testing, but I think I would have done rather well this year."

"That's good. How many essays do you write each week at that school of yours? Do you write them in the Queen's English or in some old language?" Vernon still had a hard time saying that cursed "M" word.

Harry had loads to say but figured it was best to keep it simple. He replied, "All of my essays are in modern English. I'd estimate that I write between 8 and 12 one-page essays a week and another 3 to 4 longer ones."

Vernon was more than pleased with these answers. It was almost like fate wanted this to happen. "Well Potter, I have a deal for you." He reached over and held up a book with his left hand while his right was on the steering wheel. "How long would it take you to read this book and answer 80 short answer questions about the material?"

Harry thought for a minute. If this were for Charms, Transfiguration, or Defense, he would finish in less than twelve hours, but he thought he could take his time and perhaps impress his uncle. He asked, "Could I have three days? I might be able to do a decent job in two." He had known as a little child to under promise and to over deliver.

'This was going to be great.' Vernon thought. "I will give you a whole week free of chores, but I want your best work. Every two days I'm going to check on the quality of the work and the progress to evaluate if you are doing well. If the quality is poor, I will hire you out to do chores for the neighbors from before sunrise like 5 am until after dark 930 or 10 pm every day of the week for the rest of the summer. Do we have a deal?"

"Yes sir," replied Harry. "Can I highlight passages and leave annotations in the margins? Also, can we stop at the store for some pens and a notebook? All I've got is a quill and some parchment."

"Wow quill and parchment, your kind is still living in the dark ages. The next thing you'll tell me is you use candlelight and huge fireplaces to keep warm," Vernon mocked. "Yes, let's buy that here in London before we get on the A40. There aren't any good shops by the junction to the M25, and the stationary stores in Surrey are overpriced and offer shoddy quality." If Vernon were truly honest with himself and Harry, he would have just stated he wanted to stop by his favorite burger and chips restaurant rather than sample more of those healthy meals Petunia was serving at home. Just because Dudley's coach required that his boxers to cut out all empty carbs and to focus their protein consumption on lean meats, it didn't mean that Vernon had to suffer. There were few things better than a greasy pastrami burger at Rose & Crown.

After the shopping and fast food, Vernon asked, "Alright Harry, what questions do you have about your new summer assignment?"

"What is the book called and what is it about?"

Vernon handed over a copy of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Vernon continued, "It is another one of those worthless self-help bibles written by an aspiring pseudo-cult leader. If I could, I would just bin it and keep on enjoying my life. However, the owner of my company is letting his son that just graduated from business school impart all of his supposed wisdom and left like a four-day seminar, required reading, and answer questions are going to make the company better.

Harry always remember the golden rule, 'he who has the gold makes the rules.' My boss pays my salary and so if he says I need to do this, then I get it done. Luckily, I can delegate this work to you and that you will do a great job because you're smart enough. I can use the time more productively to close customers and produce better results while coworkers are stuck doing this work. Any other questions?"

Harry answered, "I think that is clear. I may have some more after I read the book and start with the questions. Thanks for the burger. I would never have thought to put pastrami on a burger, but that was surprisingly better than a bacon burger."

They arrived at home after dark and Harry took his school things, the new purchases, and the book up to his room to get started on his newest priority.


	2. Chapter 2

Becoming a Highly Effective Wizard

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter nor do I have any relationship with the company Franklin Covey.

Author's Note: Thank you for the likes, follows and reviews. I have outlined Chapter 9 of Vivre, and so it will be done before Chapter 3 of this story. Thanks for reading.

Chapter 2

Harry had started reading at 10:30 PM and was still going strong at 1:30 AM. By 2:15 he was out, and then the same nightmare replayed once again in his mind:

 _Harry heard his ex-girlfriend, Fleur Delacour, scream in pain. A haunting scream that drove him to find the woman he adored but who had dumped him almost four months ago. Somewhere in the maze someone or something was hurting her, and he'd be damned if he didn't stop it. Recalling how he had apparated once many years ago he twisted on the spot and with the absolute focus he willed himself to be where he could save her. Harry appeared about 30 meters from Fleur, and it appeared that she was covered in blood and seizing while being held under the cruciatus curse. As he rushed towards the woman he thought that he loved, her renewed cries pierced his heart, and reactively he cast the first spell that came to his mind, a cutting curse. At 25 meters, his aim was off such that he missed the perpetrator's wand but instead dismembered Viktor Krum's wand arm diagonally through the extended elbow. There was even more blood than Harry could imagine. As he sprinted towards Fleur, he cast a quick petrificus totalis and conjured ropes to bind Krum._

 _While Harry was busy stopping Krum from bleeding out, vines from the maze had crept towards Fleur and started wrapping around her feet and legs. Slowly she was being dragged into the hedge. In his anger, Harry slashed his wand towards the vines, and his magic cut a 20-centimeter-deep slice on the ground and incidentally the vines too. To make some room in the cramped maze, he overpowered some fire spell that burned outwards away from them. Before he even looked up the vegetation around them was now a circle in the maze with a diameter of 7 meters or so and slowly smoldering out from there. Harry removed his jacket and transfigured it into a large warm blanket and wrapped it around a bloody and shaking Fleur. He hoped that it would help her to stay comfortable and he talked with her to keep her conscious until help arrived. She was going into shock, and Harry knew enough to keep her awake and warm but his healing spell knowledge was nonexistent. He shot off a magical flare to attract help, but over the next five minutes, he had had to kill an acromantula whose body was the size of a cow. Next came a young manticore whose lion-head had yet to grow a mane but the stinger dripped with yellow poison. Right has he had cast the killing blow a six-meter long three-headed runespoor went on the offensive. Harry could hardly fathom why it refused to listen to parseltongue commands and lastly, two of those bloody blast-ended skrewts came to the party. After Fleur was safely in the hands of Professor McGonagall and Krum was hauled away by Professor Flitwick, Harry continued on to see if he could finish this task._

 _The next ten minutes were hell; an uncharacteristically vicious bogart, two larger acromantulas, the last blast-ended skrewt, a rabid cerberus that definitely wasn't Fluffy, and an actual Dementor that was resistant to the Patronus charm attacked one after the other. Luckily, the dementor was highly flammable, and its path of retreat lead directly to the shining Triwizard Cup 40 meters in the distance. He made a run for it._

 _Five meters from the cup a huge tree branch came out of nowhere attempting to bash in his skull. With years of the refined instinct of avoiding sucker punches from Dudley and his gang and three years of avoiding bludgers on the Quidditch pitch, Harry went into a roll and shot off a banishing spell at the offender. Cedric was thrown into the hedge hitting his head on a knot. Harry tied Cedric up and awoke him to find out what the bloody hell had gotten into his friend. A concussed Cedric indicated that someone had him under the Imperius Curse. He remembered that his attacker had sent Krum after Fleur and that he was sent after Harry but told to send all of the obstacles after Harry one after the other to wear him down to exhaustion and then incapacitate but not kill the highly fatigued boy. Cedric with wet eyes apologized for not being strong enough to throw off the mind control curse and for attacking Harry. Harry promptly forgave his friend because no other student, and in all probability, only one or two teachers between the three schools could have overcome that curse._

 _The two friends went to take the cup together and ended up in the graveyard. Harry watched Cedric being murdered as just a spare. Then as he sat tied up to a headstone, he watched Voldemort was reborn from a hideous baby into his snake-like body and then was crucioed for the amusement of the Dark Lord and his followers. In his nightmare, Harry relived the feelings of impending death, the feelings of hopelessness while being surrounded by sadistic murders, rapists, and terrorists. He recalled perfectly the choice to meet death on his feet, and then miraculously his, and the Dark Lord's red and green spells collided and then connected their wands in a battle of wills. He saw the ghosts of Cedric, Frank the Caretaker, and his parents. Then they left him to aid in his escape back to school with Cedric's body. The temporary relief of being safe only lasted for five minutes before the shocking knowledge punched him in the gut Harry was no at the mercy of the fake Moody/Barty Crouch Jr took him back to the Defense Office to dispose of Harry. 'I should have known that the Defense teacher was going to try and kill me for the fourth year in a row. Please, Fate, Karma, Hecate, Freyja, someone, save me! I can't die here!' mentally pleaded Harry._

Harry jolted awake, jumped from his bed thus tossing his glasses and the book on the floor. His clothes were drenched in sweat. His navy bed sheets were darkened by the outline of his perspiration. Harry couldn't keep doing this, it had only been five nights, but he needed to make these dreams stop, or he was going to go crazy.

Two mornings ago, after he had bolted awake from the same recurring dream, he had spent the morning thinking about if Cedric had blamed him? He concluded that Cedric's specter in the graveyard would have said something. Rather than that, Cedric thanked Harry for his friendship and simply asking that Harry take his body back to Mr. Diggory. He realized that Voldemort was directly responsible for scores of murders and had ordered hundreds of others before his parents stopped Voldemort in 1981. Harry quickly accepted the idea that the Death Eaters were magical terrorists. The muggle world was dealing with the likes of the IRA, FARC, or Hamas so of course, the Magical world would have a similar band of murderous thugs. Cedric was the first of many to come, and Harry hoped that the Ministry and Dumbledore would try and end the threat sooner than later. Of course, Harry would like to help, but he wasn't sure how to best assist.

An epiphany came, and Harry thought, "Wait a minute! I spent hours last night reading about how people have different perspectives. How we see the same thing and yet differ on how we interpret that event.

I learned that I am highly reactionary and never plan. Habit 1 is to 'Become Proactive.' I need to think about what I can do and then do it. I have a Circle of Concern, and inside of that, I have a Circle of Influence. I need to work on and grow my Circle of Influence. Why wait for someone else to do when I can do something now. I'm not sure what I need to do, but my imagination and creativity will help me figure it out.

Habit 2 was so well explained in this part that I highlighted:

Because I am self-aware and because I have imagination and conscience, I can examine my deepest values. I can realize that the script I'm living is not in harmony with those values, that my life is not the product of my own proactive design, but the result of the first creation I have deferred to circumstances and other people. And I can change. I can live out of my imagination instead of my memory. I can tie myself to my limitless potential instead of my limiting past. I can become my own first creator.

I can manage my own life!

Why have I never thought about 'Beginning with the End in Mind?'

Who is Harry Potter really?

What do I value?

Who do I want to be now?

Who do I want to be in the future?

How do I want to be remembered?

How do I ensure that I have a future with these terrorists trying to kill me?

Since I have not been proactive, who is the director and writer of the script that I have been following?

Are they looking out for my needs and best interests?

Habit 3 is 'Putting First Things First.' or as the Greek philosopher, Epictetus was quoted, "First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do." Not only can I manage my own life, but I can also lead it. I choose the path, and I can also choose my pace, and I can prepare ahead of time to have the things I need with me to be properly fed, clothed, and hydrated.

I need to prioritize my to-do list. I've always just let Aunt Petunia, Ron, and Hermione tell me what to do. That needs to change. The book's explanation of what is important and what is urgent gave me as starting place to split up the to-do list into different categories and to give priority to first do what is important and urgent, second do the important and not urgent, third do the not important and the urgent, and lastly do the not important and not urgent."

Harry sat on his bed for a moment and got out one of the new notebooks to plan his day. He wrote down:

I need to answer the questions from Habit 2, so I can do some self-discovery.

I need to eat food.

I need to exercise.

I need to clean my body, clothes, and sweaty sheets.

I need to work on Vernon's homework.

I need to be aware of what is happening in the Wizarding World.

I need to know what resources I have available to me.

I need to delegate some of my work, so I have more time to do the important things, maybe Dobby would work for me.

I need to stay safe. Am I safe now that Voldemort can touch me?

Harry looked over his list for a moment and thought. Harry thought, "I can't disturb the Dursleys until 8:30 so eating, exercise, and getting clean won't be possible until then."

He came up with a priority system for what he could work on before breakfast.

Write Sirius about my safety here.

Write to Gringotts about what assets I have to work with.

Work on self-discovery and planning.

Contact Dobby about working for me.

Order the Daily Prophet.

Read the rest of the book.

Answer questions from the early chapters in the book.

After getting his to-do list finished, he got to work.

Dear Sirius,

I have heard that the Dursley's home is the safest place for me but as Tom took some of my blood and can now touch me without consequence, am I safe here? Please let me know and if not, can I come and stay with you or someplace safer. I know it is no longer a secret that I live here.

Love,

Harry

Dear Honorable Gringotts Employee,

My name is Harry Potter and am inquiring about the balance in my vault, any alternative means that can be arranged so that I can access galleons or GBP remotely, as well as any other assets I may have through your organization.

Also, would you be interested in buying a 23 meter, 1,000-year-old basilisk carcass that was killed about 25 months ago? It eyes suffered significant damage from a phoenix, it is only missing one of the teeth, and I stabbed it with a sword through the roof of its mouth. So, there is some damage there and also to its brain.

Best Regards,

Harry James Potter

Harry spoke aloud for the first time that morning to Hedwig, "Good morning, Beautiful. Did you sleep well? Did you get enough food on your hunt last night? I hope I can get you some treats from the store in Diagon Alley soon. Ok no treats, you don't want me to make you fat. How about I buy you a bunny or I could learn how to turn Malfoy back into a Ferret. Of course, you are too refined to eat such a pompous thing, but you could enjoy playing catch and release. Yes, I do have a reason for interrupting your beauty rest. Will you please, take this letter to Gringotts and drop this second one off to Sirius before the Dursleys wake up. Please wait for a reply from Sirius. Thank you, my dear." Hedwig seemed to love it when he said endearing things to her and talked to her like she was a witch rather than a simple owl.

Once she was gone, he pulled out the book and his notebook and pens to answer the self-discovery and planning questions. Absentmindedly, he asked aloud, "I wonder how I can contact Dobby?"

There was a little pop, "Master Harry, I'm so glad that you called Dobby. What can me do for yous?"

"I needed some help this summer and wondered if you would like to work for me. How much would you charge?"

"Master Harry is a good Master. I want to be yous elf and can Winky work for yous too? She is dying without a master. We needs a good master to share his magic."

"Dobby, are you dying too?"

"Very slowly, me accepted life and works at Hogwarts and it helps me like a real master, but real master is bestest. Winky can't accept that bad Crouches be deads. She'd work for yous, Master Harry."

"Can you bring her here and I'll ask her to work for me."

Dobby jumped for joy and hugged Harry's left leg. A moment later there was a pop, and he was gone. Seconds later, A hungover Winky and a hyper Dobby reappeared on Private Drive.

Harry felt compassion for the little elf and asked, "Winky, would you like to be my elf for the rest of our lives?"

The inebriated servant looked up with glistening eyes and an outstretched hand; she replied, "Yes, Master Harry. I want that with my whole heart."

As Harry touched her hand, he could feel a portion of his magic rush to the elf. Her body glowed for a moment, and her body grew a dozen centimeters to l.06 meters (3.5 feet). Her skin turned a healthy shade, and her dress became clean and looked brand new. Her intoxication seemed to melt away.

Dobby was excited and reached out for Harry to accept their bond as well. Harry did so, and he was amazed to see all of the scars disappear and for Dobby to add 20 cm. His pillowcase was replaced with a butler's tux.

"What would Master like us to do first?" asked Winky.

"Do you know much about protective magic on houses or on me?"

"Master, this house is protected so that no magical intending to harm an occupant may enter. Also, the wards are being powered by your magic which isn't normal. We can get a ward stone and transfer the wards to that. Also we could add some wards to block the detection of your magic being recognized by the ministry. The will pull magic from the ambient magic from the neighborhood.

Also, the protective magic from your mother is fighting a losing battle against the unnatural and corrupt magic in your scar. I think we could cleanse that from your head with the help other the other Potter elves" replied Winky.

"What other Potter elves?" Asked Harry.

Dobby answered, "I can feel ten others in England, three in France, two in Italy, two in the Caribbean, and three on a Pacific Island. Just call for the Potter Elves and all will come right now."

Harry thought for a moment, "let's take care of that this evening when no one is in the house so that we don't get caught. In the meantime, I do have things that you can work on. Which of you would like to clean my room and everything in it and which would like to run a few errands?"

Dobby looked to answer, but for all of his enthusiasm, he was preempted by Winky. She said, "I would like to clean, sir."

"Thanks, Winky, try not to wake the Dursleys they are better off ignorant of your existence if at all possible. Dobby are you okay running the errands?"

"Yes, Master Harry. I prefer errands."

"Thank you for being willing. Can you order the Daily Prophet for me, bring back some muggle exercise clothes, and bring back a healthy breakfast after I have exercised and taken a shower."

"Of course, Master Harry." And away he popped.

Winky made herself busy by fixing, mending, cleaning, and improving everything in the room including giving Harry a haircut with the snap of her fingers while he was busy answering the questions he had brainstormed earlier.

The walls looked freshly painted, the bed looked new, and Harry would discover that even that the mattress was better than the one in his dorm room at Hogwarts. The threadbare carpet was plush like it had been prior to the Dursleys buying the place. All of Harry's clothes were mended, tailored, laundered, pressed, and hung. His trainers that were held together with tape not only looked new but they smelled brand new. His trunk had been polished, and the scratches and dents were no longer there. His school books were tidy, and the stain in his book bag from a broken ink bottle came out of the dragon leather.

When Harry finally looked up from his work is mouth hung open from shock. "Thank you. Wow, thank you for cleaning all of this. I had no idea that you could do all of that."

"You're welcome. What else can I clean, Master Harry?"

"Can you clean the attic, without a sound? I haven't been up there in a few years, and last time it was rather dusty. Also, please try just to call me Harry when we are alone.

"Yes, please let me clean up there. Thank you, Harry." She hugged his side and then disappeared.

Harry really needed more information so that he could plan thoroughly. He opened up the book and continued on to learn about Habit 4.


End file.
